MarieTC wrote: be very careful about what you say about your mental illness. It's not really going to make schools look at your GPA differently. Applying is a numbers game, and your gpa is what it is. (I think there's a significant risk that you could put off some schools, and your definitely not going to get a big bump, so I wouldn't make it anything close to the focus of your application. Way too risky)

Thank you. I want to make sure I understand--someone going from a semester and a half of withdrawals, C's and medical leaves to basically straight A's for 2+ years would not benefit from any explaining? Or would just treating it as an undisclosed illness be better? Because it really wasn't just about me suddenly "getting my act together", but going so far as to say to my parents: I'm getting treatment, you can pull all financial support or not. And since then basically a perfect record. If even the kind of "overcoming adversity" take is too tricky, let me know.

MarieTC wrote:Thank you. I want to make sure I understand--someone going from a semester and a half of withdrawals, C's and medical leaves to basically straight A's for 2+ years would not benefit from any explaining? Or would just treating it as an undisclosed illness be better? Because it really wasn't just about me suddenly "getting my act together", but going so far as to say to my parents: I'm getting treatment, you can pull all financial support or not. And since then basically a perfect record. If even the kind of "overcoming adversity" take is too tricky, let me know.

I wouldn't leave it undisclosed, I would probably explain it by writing an addendum as opposed to making your personal statement about it. Just my opinion, but I feel like mental illness is just not something that I would want to dive into deeper than I had to. My reasoning, 99% chance you're not going to get any real bump from it. I feel like if you strike the wrong tone there is a chance you could put people off with it. If you do go for it, make sure not to come across as too whiny, too nuts, or trying to give your self too much credit for over coming adversity. That being said, I'm just a loser on the internet, so take my advice with a shaker of salt.